What is it about cricket that so inflames the passion in man: is it that the contest, the individual battles? In what is quintessentially a team game, the confrontations hark back to the jousters of medieval times. There is nowhere to hide in the cauldron that is a packed MCG on Boxing Day.

England has gone the New York way with the announcement of their Ashes squad. The selection of Chris Tremlett suggests England hope that height will extract bounce from the ‘Gabba pitch come November. Steve Finn, all 6’ 7” of him, is the incumbent and first choice with Tremlett the cover.

Four years ago, Glenn McGrath sprained his ankle on a stray ball at Edgbaston, an incident that dramatically altered the course of the 2005 Ashes series. Six weeks ago, Australia had over ten overs at the England last-wicket pairing of Monty Panesar and James Anderson.

Why do St George nearly always lose to The Raiders? Is it the biting cold air in the nation’s capital that is so different from the balmy seaside locations at Wollongong or Kogarah that gets the players literally out of their comfort zones?

Australia’s fight for the Ashes is set to turn nasty at Lords this week following a bitter final day in Cardiff. Relations between the sides have soured significantly in the wake of the dramatic draw in the series opener at Sophia Gardens on Sunday.

With the selection of the side for the First Ashes Test, the English selectors have shown that they are willing to stick to their convictions and bet on the nucleus of the side that they have built since the start of the English summer.